§ 38. Mr. Parkinasked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation what further progress he has made in hastening a solution to the noise problem at London Airport which is delaying the development of a direct service to Moscow to the advantage of Great Britain's European competitors.
§ Mr. WatkinsonThe information provided by the Soviet authorities is still under consideration, and I am not yet in a position to add anything to what my hon. Friend, the Parliamentary Secretary, said on 5th November.
§ Mr. ParkinBearing in mind that a very high proportion of the travellers on this route would be Americans, and that it is very much to our advantage that they should stop off at London, and bearing in mind, also, that there are certain tricky matters of prestige in this which may be as intractable as the noise problem, will the right hon. Gentleman give an assurance that he is giving this subject his closest, and his continuous, personal attention?
§ Mr. WatkinsonI have said that I am looking into it, and I hope that, before long, we may be able to make another approach to the Russians. If they will be kind enough to come to London Airport and demonstrate their new techniques, nobody will be better pleased than I.